After saffron ‘capture’ of JNU, are Jadavpur and Hyderabad Central University next?

Winning an internal war

The event, which was clearly aimed at ‘instilling nationalism and patriotism’ among students in the campus, was controversial largely for the statements made by the chief guests at the event which included ex-army veterans and Modi govt ministers and supporters.

Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and V K Singh, Major General Bakshi, cricketer Gautam Gambhir and author Rajiv Malhotra were present and began the show with a tricolour march within the campus with a 2,200 foot-long Indian flag. 

JNU Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar even requested the ministers to help procure an Army tank that could be placed on campus to remind students of the sacrifices made by the Indian Army. 

More so, Malhotra’s comments at the event project a sense of victory: “This is not only a victory of taking over Kargil in the external war, but also the victory of taking over JNU in the internal war.”

While crediting the V-C, Dharmendra Pradhan said he was surprised by the change in the environment of the university – which last year was the epicentre of a controversy over anti-national slogans and where now slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ are being raised. 

Last year’s events are what has spurred this forcing of nationalism down the throats of students. Several students were arrested for sedition in February and the university had been tagged as an ‘anti-national’ by right-wing forces.

Action against dissent

All three universities have dissented against the government on several issues in the past – over the suicide of Rohith Vemula at HCU, the sedition charges against JNU students and the even recent the use of a civilian as a human shield in Kashmir.

Many senior faculty members in JNU expressed their concern over the government’s forceful attempt at ‘saffronising’ an institution that has long been considered to be a bastion of Left-wing ideology.

A senior faculty member at JNU told Catch, “It does not matter if outsiders like Gen. Bakhshi or those with his mindset  speak of "waging war" on universities, eliminating their enemies and "capturing" institutions. They have already  been making these kind of statements for many months. But I feel very sad that a solemn occasion to honour the Kargil martyrs was transformed into a loud political event, organised and presided over by the Vice-Chancellor of a prestigious university and such statements were made in his presence. I know that many teachers thought that something like this might happen but still it is very disheartening to see the university's dignity lowered in this fashion.”

The senior professor added, “A university's contribution to the national cause is through contributing to higher education and by upholding the spirit and ideals of the Indian Constitution, and not by teaching students through mounting tanks on the campus while squashing their free speech and their spirit of enquiry. Moreover, 80% of the people in the event were mobilised from outside.”

Prof Ayesha Kidwai, Presient of JNU Teachers’ Association said, “It is incredibly unfortunate that these statements were made against a prestigious university like JNU and that too in presence of the V-C. JNU is not an alien territory. And the saddest part is that the V-C has openly allied with the govt’s saffron ideology. Organising such events is not his job. What people like VK Singh or Gautam Gambhir or Gen Bakshi come and say is not our issue. We dispute it but our issue is with the V-C forcing misplaced nationalism in the campus.”

She further added, “Installing a tank doesn’t make the slightest of difference to the JNU. We are not against the Army. JNU community needs no tank to prove our commitment to this country. JNU is committed to the issues of discrimination and upliftment of the marginalised in the country. Our research work and academics is aimed at making the youth informed about their rights and the rights of the downtrodden and making a difference in society. We will continue to do that with or without a tank.”

A conquest

Other universities mentioned by General Bakshi did not take kindly to the comment either.

Senior faculty member at Jadavpur University told Catch, “What do they mean by ‘capture’ of universities? I cannot imagine high-ranking officials making such statements against education institutions and students. Seems like saffronising dissenting education institutions are conquests for the government and its supporters. While we support our soldiers wholeheartedly, contrary to what the government thinks, such events in educational campuses are nothing but an attempt at political polarization and it is unacceptable. 

He added, “What the government is doing very effectively is using the Indian Army to create a rift within society between people who question the government and its ideologies and the ones who don’t and brand them as either ‘anti-nationals’ or ‘nationalists’. The saddest thing is that instead of encouraging students to question and dissent, they’re trying to trap them into government sponsored nationalism and patriotism.”